The Levites Were Set Apart to Serve
June 27, 2019
Commentary
When God divided the Promised Land among the 12 tribes the tribe of Levi did not receive a portion of the land. However, 48 cities were set aside for the Levites (Numbers 35:1-8). The Lord was their inheritance. The emphasis of the first eight verses of this chapter is that the Israelites were to support the Levites, through whom they were taught the Word and will of God. The Levites were set apart to serve the Lord and were not to make a living by working with their hands. The function of the Levites was not just to carry out tasks related to the temple, but to teach the Law of God and to instruct the Israelites concerning the will of God. The Levites were the usual means by which God communicated His Word and His will to men, as they taught and applied the law.
Only the descendants of Aaron were permitted to serve as priests (Numbers 3:10) and the rest of tribe, were to serve as ministers to the priests (Numbers 18:1-7). Priests were actually a minority in the tribe of Levi. In order to have their physical needs met the priests and Levites received food from the offerings and sacrifices that were brought to the Lord. Also the priests were allowed to visit in the homes of Israelites who did not live near God’s chosen place of worship. When they visited in a home they were to expect food and provisions for their need (vv. 6-8).
Application
My life has been set apart to serve the Lord and not on the material things of this world. As I grow older in my faith I must keep this fact primary in my life. For many years God has met the needs of my family through the support of others.
Deuteronomy 18:1– 8 (NET)
1 The Levitical priests —indeed, the entire tribe of Levi—will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. 2 They will have no inheritance in the midst of their fellow Israelites; the Lord alone is their inheritance, just as he had told them. 3 This shall be the priests’ fair allotment from the people who offer sacrifices, whether bull or sheep—they must give to the priest the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach. 4 You must give them the best of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as the best of your wool when you shear your flocks. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen them and their sons from all your tribes to stand and serve in his name permanently. 6 Suppose a Levite comes by his own free will from one of your villages, from any part of Israel where he is living, to the place the Lord chooses 7 and serves in the name of the Lord his God like his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 8 He must eat the same share they do, despite any profits he may gain from the sale of his family’s inheritance.